Our Secret
by Spirit-Wolf11
Summary: Freya has been Hiccup's best friend for as long as she remembers. But what will happen when a big, scaly secret comes between them? Their friendship will be tested but will something more between them come from this trial?
1. Prologue

Valka stared in astonishment, holding her baby boy close to her chest as the white dragon in front of her collapsed; resting its head and chest on the edge of the cliff, it's body in the beautiful beast stared back at her, turquoise eyes sad and weary. It had a magnificent crown of white and spines and was bigger than any dragon Valka had ever seen. With obvious struggle, the dragon set down a glowing blue egg, licking it tenderly. Valka stared in shock as the beautiful dragon closed its eyes and rested its head with a low groan, turning to ice, blowing away like snow. Valka knelt down and reached for the egg, but as she touched the icy shell, it erupted in a burst of snowflakes and she flinched back, covering Hiccup. To her surprise, when she opened her eyes, there was a human baby curled up in the snow where the egg had been. The baby girl had hair as white as snow and the same stunning turquoise eyes as the dragon before, only her pupils were surrounded by copper. The baby's eyes filled with tears and she started sneezing at the cold air. Without any other moral option, Valka took her fur shawl and wrapped it around the baby.

"I don't quite know what to do with you." Valka said to the girl as she carried both babies back to the village. The baby girl's snow-white hair, was slowly fading to red, and by the time Valka had reached the village, her hair was a brilliant auburn; the same color as her husband's beard. Stoick was the first person Valka could think of to see about the baby, however regarding his passionate hate for dragons, Valka knew he would only do more harm than good. She eventually found that she had snuck through the busy village and through the back door to the blacksmith, Gobber, the family's closest friend.

"Gobber, I need your help." Valka startled the grubby man. He jumped but turned around smiling all the same. Both his smile and his tong appendage dropped when his eyes landed on the added bundle in her arms.

"Valka, why in Thor's name do you have another baby?" Gobber frowned suspiciously. "Is it yours?"

"No Gobber, she's not mine. I found her near the cliffs." She hesitated, second guessing her decision. "She was left there by a dragon." She sighed at his skeptical look. "Just... Look at this." She held the baby out to him, hopeful when he hesitantly took her, adjusting the shawl to look at her.

"Odin's beard." Gobber swore, quickly shoving the baby back at Valka. "That's a witch if ever I saw one!" He backed away. Valka adjusted the baby on her hip and found that she had normal human eyes, a warm brown quickly taking over the turquoise of her new iris'. The baby looked straight at Gobber, excitedly reaching her arms out for him. Valka safely set Hiccup down and walked over to Gobber, who was still taken aback.

"Please Gobber. We can't leave an orphan baby, she has no home or family. Where else will she go? Would you put a newborn to the stake and have her burned?" Valka snapped Gobber back to his senses.

"and just what is it you're asking me to do?" He filled with dread and what her answer could be.

"I'm asking you to raise her as an adopted child. You have no wife or children, and she has no parent." Valka held the baby back out for him to take.

"What makes you think I want a child?" He hesitantly took the baby. "Besides, I wouldn't know what to do. I don't know the first thing about raising a kid. And what am I gonna tell Stoick?" gobber sighed and shook his head. "It'd probably be better if you took her in." He held the baby back out to Valka. She shook her head and picked Hiccup back up.

"What would I tell Stoick if I took her in? What if her eyes changed back in front of him? You know as well as I do that he hates dragons. He would have her sent away or worse; burned for witchcraft." Gobber struggled for another excuse but found none. "We'll say that you found her on the dock at night and a strange ship was sailing away in the distance. Valka nodded at her own sound story. Gobber sighed in defeat, looking down at the baby who was staring up at him with big, curious eyes and a cute, gummy smile.

"Oh alright." He finally agreed. "But you're gonna have to help me with her." He bargained, making Valka smile.

"Of course." She nodded, showing him how to hold her properly. "And I'm sure others will too, like Phlegma, she has no children of her own."

"What if she turns into a dragon?" Gobber asked, letting the baby hold his finger.

"We have to keep her secret. It could mean her life." Valka sighed. "She must know the truth when the time comes, but until then, no one can know." Gobber nodded, looking back down at the baby as she started sucking on his finger. "She will need a name." Valka smiled.

"Freya." Gobber nodded. "Her hair is like fire... It's also the prettiest name I know." He shrugged sheepishly.

"Freya it is then" Valka agreed.

A few months had passed and winter was almost over. Valka sat at the edge of the woods, admiring the way the frost melted on the trees and a slight green washed over the forest with the oncoming spring. She sat with both babies, Hiccup being the weaker of the two due to his premature birth, was strapped to Valka's front, so she could support him. Freya was strapped to her back, looking around curiously. Valka always took care of Freya during the day while Gobber worked. a blacksmith was no place for a baby, especially one as curious as Freya.

"This will be the first spring for both of you. I think that everyone is ready for some warmer weather." She sighed in content. Freya suddenly started to make strange, panicked noises, struggling against the blankets holding her in place. "Freya? What is it?" As Valka twisted her head to look back at Freya, she caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye. A four-winged dragon with an owl-like face emerged from the woods, growling at the trio. Valka gasped, stumbling to get up, and started running. The sudden movement caused the dragon to snap at them, ripping Freya from Valka's back.

"No!" Valka cried out, reaching up to try and take the girl back. She got hold of the blanket but Freya was not inside. Valka dropped the blanket and a small white dragon fell from the larger one's mouth, landing heavily. The smaller dragon had copper specks covering its feet, almost like socks, and covering the tips of the spines on its head. Its belly and tail fins were a pale blue that shone a pearly color in the light. The dragon didn't have wings yet, instead there were two small, bony nubs protruding from its back. The baby dragon growled, stood in front of Valka and then roared. It was a high-pitched, pathetic sound that wavered nervously, but it was enough for the larger dragon to back down. Giving a soft snort before returning to the trees. Putting two and two together, Valka realized that the baby dragon was, in fact Freya. She turned to face Valka and her turquoise eyes scanned the ground, searching for something. She trotted over to the blanket near Valka and awkwardly dragged it to her feet, tripping over it along the way. Valka knelt in disbelief, reaching her hand out; Freya nuzzled it, breathing warm air on Valka's fingers.

"Oh Freya." Valka sighed. She strapped Hiccup to her back and wrapped Freya up as best she could, trying to cover the struggling dragon. She ran to Gobber's shop as quickly as possible, holding Freya tightly to her chest.

"Valka? What's wrong?" Gobber eyed the struggling bundle worriedly. Valka looked around at the few customers waiting for repairs and Gobber ushered her into the back room.

"It's Freya." Valka blurted as Gobber closed the door. She put the blanket on the table and Freya awkwardly emerged, shaking it off.

"Oh Thor." Gobber sighed, running his hand over his face. "How did this happen?"He gestured to the dragon with his hook.

"A dragon attacked, and she protected us." Valka checked that Hiccup was ok. "But now she won't turn back." She sighed.

"Well she can't stay like that." He walked up to the desk. "Hey, Princess." He smiled nervously at hthe dragon, letting her sniff his hand. She leaned into it like a cat and sat down. "Freya, you have to change back." He said sternly, pulling his hand away and pointing a finger at her. She snorted and licked his finger, crouching her front legs and sticking her behind in the air playfully.

"Freya." Valka frowned at her. "Change back." She said, briefly glancing at the door. "Or you can't see Hiccup." She threatened, holding the boy away from Freya. She protested with a small growl, then squeezed her eyes shut. Her body morbidly changed back into a baby human. Her screams were enough to break anyone's heart. Her cries of agony dulled to sobs as Gobber held her in her blanket, cuddling her and bouncing to calm her down.

"We can't ever let this happen to her again." Gobber said sternly. Valka nodded in agreement. "Even if it means she never interacts with dragons, I don't want her turning, or even knowing about this."

"Not if she goes through it like this." Valka nodded, hugging Hiccup.


	2. Chpt 1: Morning Dragon

Freya anxiously leaned over the counter of the shop, desperately scanning the crowd outside for a particular lanky boy. She sighed and carefully grabbed the pile of broken and bent weapons, hauling them to a bench for Gobber to fix.

"Ah, don't worry, he'll be here." Gobber remarked, smiling at her from the back of the stall.

"Worried? I'm not worried, he's just late." Freya crossed her arms in defence.

"Right." Gobber nodded mockingly. She shoved his arm and he waved his tongs at her, playfully threatening to pinch her. Freya shook her head and made her way to the forge, checking that it was hot enough.

"I'm never gonna be good at this you know." She sighed and leaned against the counter.

"You don't have to be good at fixing weapons. You're plenty good at other things, like making small things and engraving!" He tried to cheer her up.

"They're not really important though." She shrugged.

"You doubt yourself too much." Gobber frowned at her. "The screws you make hold houses together, that's important." He smiled. "And there's no one in the world that can balance a weapon like you." She shrugged off her talents.

"What are you doing out!?"

"Get inside!"

"Get back inside!" By the loud commands of other Vikings, Freya knew that Hiccup was outside. She handed out weapons as Vikings lined up for replacements.

"Hiccup!?" Stoick's loud voice boomed over everyone else's. "What is he doing out again?! What are you doing out?! Get inside!" Freya smiled to herself, knowing what a troublemaker he was. She carried a few broken axes over to Gobber's growing pile as Hiccup jogged inside.

"Ah! Nice of you to join the party! I thought you'd been carried off." Gobber remarked as Hiccup pulled a leather apron over his head. Freya started putting away Gobber's scattered appendages.

"Who me? Nah, come on! I'm _way_ too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all... this." Hiccup joked, striking a bodybuilder pose.

"They need toothpicks, don't they?" Gobber retorted.

"Nah, they wouldn't want him. I'm surprised he hasn't scared them all off looking like that." Freya teased, punching him in the arm.

"Gee, thanks Freya, you sure know how to compliment someone in the morning." Hiccup replied sarcastically.

"Just doing my job." She smiled, ruffling his hair. She continued to replace broken weapons, her arms starting to ache. There was an explosion behind the store and Hiccup raced to the window. Freya briefly saw the other teens running past to douse the flames. She knew that Hiccup was watching her other best friend Astrid. She was all he ever talked about. She was also everything that Freya wasn't. Blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect figure. Freya wanted Hiccup to think of her the way he thought of Astrid. Instead, she was just his bony best friend with the frizzy red hair and standard brown eyes. "Hey, you'd better wipe up that drool before Astrid sees it." Freya teased again, trying to hide her jealousy with humor.

"Hilarious." Hiccup rolled his eyes back at her. He tried to scramble out the window as the teens raced back past it, but was hoisted up by Gobber's hook. "Ah, come on. Let me out, please? I need to make my mark." He frowned at Gobber as he was put down.

"Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places." Gobber poked him. Freya started heating a sword on the forge.

"Please? Two minutes,I'll kill a dragon, my life will get infinitely better. I might even get a date." Freya angrily tossed the sword in a bucket of water, making both a loud clang and a satisfying sizzle, even though the move was pointless. Both of them glanced over at her. For a smart boy, Hiccup was so oblivious to Freya's feelings. She presumed that he was oblivious because he thought no one would want to have feelings for him.

"You can't lift a hammer. You can't swing an axe..." Gobber grabbed a bola from the counter. "You can't even throw one of these." A Viking took the bola and hurled it at a Gronkle. The dragon crashed to the ground with a cry, making Freya wince. She was the only Viking in history who thought that killing dragons was wrong. She saw them as no different to Vikings, even thought she had been given no reason to believe so. She kept her unpopular opinion to herself.

"Okay fine, but this..." Hiccup rushed to the back of the store in protest, presenting his latest invention. "Will throw it for me." He pat it and it sprung up, launching a bola narrowly past Gobber and knocked down the Viking at the window.

"See, now this right here is what I'm talkin' about." Gobber sighed. Freya left her half finished sword and started replacing weapons at the counter.

"Uh, a mild calibration issue-" Hiccup started.

"Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all..." Gobber gestured in Hiccup's general direction. "This." He finished.

"But... you just pointed to all of me." Hiccup frowned.

"Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you." Freya rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Ohhhh..." Hiccup threatened.

" _Ohhhhh_ , yes." Gobber mimicked.

"You, sir, are playing a dangerous game." Freya smiled. "Keeping this much, raw... Viking...ness contained... There will be consequences!" Hiccup bargained. Gobber tossed him a sword.

"I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now." He ordered. Hiccup took it begrudgingly and lobbed it on the grinding wheel. Freya stopped her pottering around and started rebalancing axes, tweaking and test swinging them. Her head snapped up at the familiar shriek of a Night Fury and she rushed to the window, craning her neck to look at the sky.

' _Stop hurting them!'_ Freya shook her head. _Now I'm hearing things?_ She thought to herself, she assumed that it was because of the early hour.

"Night Fury! Get down!" A Viking in the plaza called out as everyone Freya could see scrambled to find shelter. The invisible dragon shot down one of the catapults and a mixture of wood and Vikings went flying. gobber swapped his hammer appendage for an axe.

"Man the fort, you two, they need me out there!" He paused; turning with a threatening glare at Hiccup. "Stay. Put. There. You know what I mean." His gaze was accusing towards Freya. "Keep him out of trouble."

"Try my best." Freya raised a hand to her head in mock salute. Gobber charged off with a yell. She returned to the counter and could practically feel Hiccup's pleading gaze burning into her back. "Do you need something Hiccup?" She smiled teasingly at him, turning to lean up against the counter.

"Come on Freya, please?" He pleaded, clasping his hands together.

"Don't destroy anything this time, ok?" She sighed. He gave her a crooked smile.

"I promise." He scrambled to he contraption, reloading it. "Today's the day!"

"Don't get hurt either please." Freya frowned with concern.

"Stop worrying! Today's the lucky day. I feel it." He grinned at her excitedly.

"Uh-huh. Where?" Freya crossed her arms skeptically.

"My foot." Hiccup held up his right foot with such conviction that Freya almost actually believed him.

"Gods help me." She sighed. "Go on. Get out of here!"

"Lucky day!" Hiccup called over his shoulder, running his contraption through the crowd. Freya shook her head, smiling.

"I love you." She mumbled, continuing her work.

Freya had only properly sharpened one sword before she heard Hiccup's wavering scream for help.

"Yep, I knew that was a bad idea." She sighed to herself. The Viking at the counter smiled at her sympathetically. "I'll be right back." She told him, quickly swapping his mace. She switched the 'OPEN FOR FIGHTING DRAGONS' sign to a 'BACK SOON, FIGHTING DRAGONS' one written in Gobber's messy scrawl. She grabbed her small axe on her way out of the shop and briefly saw Hiccup being chased by a Monstrous Nightmare. "I had two conditions. Two!" She grumbled to herself, running through the crowd of chaos. Hiccup ducked behind the last burning brazier as the dragon fired at him. She pushed him behind her to face the red beast. "Leave him alone!" She bared her teeth, spinning her axe. She didn't want to hurt the dragon, just scare it off. It's eyes widened and it slowly started to back away, bowing slightly. Stoick appeared behind her, taking her axe from her and swinging the flat face of it into the side of the dragons head. Freya winced slightly as the dragon took off. She glanced at the burnt brazier as it collapsed and crashed down the hill. With a sigh she offered her hand to Hiccup. He took it and as he stood, Freya punched his arm.

"Hey!" He complained.

"I gave you two conditions." She frowned at him. Stoick gave Freya's axe back and pat her shoulder gently. She nodded in thanks and wiped her sweaty, ashy hands on her... apron? _That's embarrassing._ She quickly scurried back to the shop.

The awkwardness was suffocating when she returned. Everyone in the village was silent. Waiting.

"Why can't you follow the simplest orders?" Stoick asked, his face almost as red as hid beard.

"I can't stop myself. I see a dragon and I have to just... kill it, you know? It's who I am, Dad." Both Freya and Stoick pinched the bridges of their noses in embarrassment. Freya made her way to where the other teens were sitting.

"Morning." She whispered, earning nods and various replies from her friends.

"You are many things, Hiccup. But a dragon killer is not one of them." Stoick sighed. Freya felt bad for Hiccup as she saw the other Vikings nod in agreement. "Get back to the house." He turned to Gobber, "Make sure he gets there. I have his mess to clean up." Freya sat on a crate next to Astrid. The other teens started to snicker as Hiccup walked past with Gobber.

"Quite the performance!" Tuffnut mocked.

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!" Snotlout snickered. Freya kicked him in the back and threw a rock at Tuffnut.

"Thank you. Thank you. I was trying, so..." Hiccup didn't look at any of them as he passed.

"There's no reason for any of you to be so rude to him." Freya frowned at them. "Anyway, I've gotta go make sure Hiccup doesn't get himself killed."

"You don't have to babysit him Freya." Astrid frowned "Come train with me or something." She offered with a smile.

"I'd never keep up." Freya grabbed her thin arm as proof. "I'll hang with you tomorrow." She smiled back, running after Hiccup.

"She could so keep up. She works as a blacksmith for Odin's sake." Astrid sighed to the others, who all nodded in agreement. "She needs to stop doubting herself so much."

"She deserves way better than him." Ruffnut stated. Snotlout sighed.

Freya caught the tail end of Hiccup's flattering impression of Stoick.

"... This here, this is a talking fish bone!" Hiccup had puffed his chest out to try and make his voice deeper.

"You're thinking about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like. It's what's inside that he can't stand." Freya was speechless at Gobber's blunt remark. A long pause of silence followed.

"Thank you, for summing that up." Hiccup frowned, opening his front door.

"Look Hiccup," Freya interrupted Gobber before he could accidentally make the poor boy feel worse. "What he's trying to say, is that you should stop trying so hard to be something you're not." Hiccup sighed heavily.

"I just want to be one of you guys." Gobber eyed him sympathetically. Freya followed him inside, pausing at the door.

"Have fun. And come home safely." Gobber smiled.

"I'm always safe." Freya smiled back. Gobber chuckled and kissed her forehead before she closed the door.

"Sorry if I got you in trouble." Hiccup apologized.

"It's ok, I'm not in trouble." She shrugged, walking over to the table he was standing at. "So," She sat up on the table. "What's the plan for today?" She saw the rough sketch of Berk in his notebook, circles dotted randomly on the page. "Oh, please don't tell me you're planning-"

"Freya, I hit it. I really did. I promise that I did! If I kill it, maybe my dad will finally be proud of me, maybe Astrid will like me, maybe I'll have more than one friend." Hiccup sighed, closing his notebook.

"Hiccup, you don't need to kill a dragon to make anyone proud." Freya slid off the table and put her hands on his shoulder, making him look at her.

"Yes I do. You wouldn't understand." He shrugged her off. "Everyone loves you." He mumbled.

"But I haven't killed a dragon." She pointed out. He looked away with a sigh. "Come on. Lead the way." She tried to make him feel better. He perked up and grabbed Freya's hand, racing out the back door full of determination.


	3. Chpt 2: Concerned Dragon

Hiccup peeked over a gorge expectantly, sighed and added another "x" to his book.

"Hiccup are you sure... That it came down around here? I mean, we've been searching all morning." Freya didn't want to dishearten him, but she her stomach was grumbling loudly. Hiccup scribbled all over his book and snapped it shut, putting it in his coat pocket and completely ignoring Freya. "Hiccup," She started, grabbing his hand to turn him around. "You know, you don't have to kill dragons to be a Viking. You don't have to kill them to be Chief, or to be my best friend. You can be whatever you want." Hiccup sighed and looked up at her. "You could be Hiccup the Greatest Blacksmith, or Hiccup the Greatest drawer. Whether you kill dragons or not doesn't change who you are as a person. You can be accepted as anything." Freya tried to explain. He started walking again. "You don't have to kill dragons to be a part of this village. You'll always be you Father's son. And you'll always be my best friend, whether you're a dragon killer, a bread maker or just Hiccup." Freya sighed, scuffing her boot as she followed him.

"Ugh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an entire dragon!" Hiccup angrily hit a low hanging tree branch and it flung back to hit him in the face. Freya snorted and giggled.

"Serves you right for hitting trees." She pushed the back of his knee with her foot. He stumbled and frowned back at her.

"Very funny." Hiccup was unamused. "Freya, look at this." His tone fell serious as Freya dulled her laughter. She followed his gaze to see a broken tree trunk leading down to a trail of upturned earth. Her smile fell and her gut filled with dread.

Hiccup started down the trail first, Freya nervously following. He peered over the edge of the hill and quickly shrunk back down, scrambling for his knife as his chest heaved. Freya took a deep breath and gazed over the ledge to see a huge, jet-black dragon, tangled in a bola. She gasped, covering her mouth and biting down on her fist. Hiccup readied his knife and crawled over the ledge.

"Hiccup." Freya put her hand on his shoulder. She knew this was what he had wanted from the day he understood what it meant to kill a dragon. "Just… Remember what I said." She looked at him with pleading eyes; he nodded curtly and crawled the rest of the way over. Freya sighed and let her head flop back on the hill. "This is not gonna end well." She mumbled, hitting the ground next to her and following Hiccup. She watched as he hid behind a giant boulder, puffing out his nerves before turning around to face the dragon. The dragon seemed to sense her presence, opening its eyes and giving her a pleading look.

"Oh wow. I did it. I did it. This fixes everything. Yes!" Hiccup struck a victory pose, placing his foot on the shoulder of the dragon. "I have brought down this mighty beast!" The dragon pushed him off, groaning in pain, Hiccup sprung back, pointing his knife at the dragon. Freya walked up to Hiccup hastily, grabbing his shoulder.

"Hiccup, this isn't right. This isn't you." She frowned, glancing between Hiccup and the dragon.

"Freya, you'll never understand." He shook her off; she rolled over her ankle and tripped. "You're perfect and everyone loves you."

"I'm flattered, but I've never killed or even harmed a dragon Hiccup. I think it's wrong and I don't support it." His frown softened and he helped her up.

"You really think that? Have you told anyone?" His arms dropped.

"Of course not. If you hadn't noticed, we're Vikings." She shrugged. His eyes scanned over the length of the dragon in contemplation. It stared back at the two of them. "Hiccup... This just isn't you. And that's okay." Freya smiled at him softly.

"I did this." He muttered, ashamed of himself.

"You can also undo it." She held her hand out. He gave her the knife. Freya started sawing the knife through the ropes that were cutting into the dragon's legs as Hiccup looked around nervously. "Don't worry, no one's coming." She looked back at him. She cut through the last of the ropes and the dragon pounced, knocking Freya out of the way and pinning Hiccup to the rock. "Hiccup!" She cried out, standing up. Her whole body was shaking violently and she felt like there were a million butterflies trapped inside of her. She collapsed when the pain came. It felt like every single bone in her body was breaking. Her vision was fuzzy, but she could make out the dragon rising up, charging its blast to fire at Hiccup. She jumped and felt like her skin was ripped off and suddenly, all of the pain was gone. Her vision was clear and she was standing on the rock above Hiccup, staring the Night Fury in the eye. "Don't touch him." She growled. The Night Fury roared in Hiccup's face.

' _That's for shooting me!'_ Freya shook her head again. The dragon took off, bounding and gliding through the woods. Freya looked down at Hiccup.

"Are you okay?" She asked, only to hear a concerned groan from a dragon. Looking around, she frowned and climbed off the rock, trying to stand up on her feet. _Why couldn't she balance?_ She looked down to see taloned claws in front of her. "Wh-what?" She stammered, falling backwards. Hiccup stood, stumbling backwards in fear. "Hiccup," She started, taking a step towards him. He held his knife out at her but he seemed so overwhelmed that he passed out. Freya didn't know what to do, she couldn't just leave him there, but she was a dragon. _How? Why?_ She couldn't stop the questions rolling around in her head. She sat and waited until Hiccup stirred and started to wake up, before she took off. Running after the Night Fury. Maybe he could tell her what was going on.

Freya found a secluded cove with a lake at the bottom. She saw the Night Fury scraping at the edge, trying to escape. She slowly crept down the rocks, not wanting the other dragon to fly away. When she approached the water, she saw a dragon staring back her in the reflection. _Was this really her?_ Freya now looked like a white-scaled Night Fury, her face and body smaller, thinner and narrower. There were copper specks covering her feet and some dotted on the spines on her head. She had more than the other Night Fury; they looked more like a crown. Freya's belly was a pale pearly blue, the same as the leathery membrane of her magnificent wings. Her eyes were a stunning turquoise, bright copper flecks surrounding her pupils. She looked over at her body; small brown spines ran down her long neck and over her back, getting smaller near her long tail. A double fin fanned out at the end, she could move each part, waving them up and down. While Freya thought her new form was beautiful, she didn't want to be a dragon. The other Night Fury was watching her cautiously, slowly creeping closer. She closed the distance between them, sitting down.

 _"Can you tell me what happened?"_ She asked, hopeful for an answer.

 _"How should I know? It's your body."_ He grunted, though not rudely.

 _"Sorry I asked."_ She sighed, laying down, her head at the water's edge.

 _"All I know is that I've never met another dragon even similar to my kind. You are the first. You're also the first I've met who is actually a human."_ He laid next to her. _"You have a full crown."_ He noted.

" _What does that mean?"_ She frowned, looking at her reflection again.

 _"_ _It means that you're from a royal bloodline. Or at least so I've been told."_ He rested his head on his front legs, blowing bubbles in the water through his nose. _"I have a half crown."_ His spines on his head wiggled around to show her. She nodded. _"You want to go back?"_ He raised his head again. _"If you relax, then maybe you'll change back."_

 _"I'm sorry he shot you down."_ She looked up at him.

 _"I commend him. No one has done it before."_ Freya huffed in amusement. _"The sun it setting. Your pack will be looking for you."_ Freya nodded and stood up.

 _"Thank you."_ She said quickly, running back the way she had come.

Freya waited until most of the lights were off in the village, all but Gobber's. She snuck to the back door and scratched lightly on it. She hoped her Father would know what was happening. He opened the door and cried out in shock, pulling a sword out and swinging it around.

"Get out of 'ere!" He shouted. Freya panicked, running back into the forest. She started trying to control her breathing, trying to coax the ripping feeling that she felt before back. She should have guessed he wouldn't recognise her. _She was a dragon!_ She started to feel her body being crushed, her skin as if it were peeling away like bad sunburn. She gasped for air and cried out as her insides were flipping. The last thing she remembered was her father running out to her.

"Freya?" She stirred at her Dad's voice.

"What happened?" She frowned, sitting up. She was back in her room, in her bed. _Was it all a dream?_ She wondered.

"You didn't come home last night, I heard you screamin' and ran out to find you on the ground, knocked out cold. Your clothes were gone too." Freya turned red, realising that she was now dressed in her nightgown. "Freya, I need to talk to you." Gobber sighed from his chair beside her bed.

"Hey, my dolly!" Freya noticed the wooden doll in his hands and gently took it. It used to have gems for eyes but had lost one along the way. "I haven't seen Gertrude for years." She stroked the dolls hair, running her fingers along the teeth marks. "Wait, these teeth marks..."

"I took her away from you. It broke my heart and you cried for days, but I had to keep it a secret. From everyone, even you." Gobber sighed. "I don't know how to tell you this." He admitted.

"Was I always a dragon?" Freya blurted, for the ease of them both.

"I saw you last night and hoped it wasn't you. I didn't know what to do, so I shooed you away." He sighed and took his helmet off, running his hand over his face. "You turned a few times when you were a baby."

"You knew I could turn into a dragon and you kept it from me?!" Freya angrily stood, throwing her blankets. "I could have snapped at any minute and hurt someone. I could have been caught and burned! Luckily it was only Hiccup who saw me!"

"I'm sorry, Freya. I thought you would grow out of it or forget how to do it. But you were in so much pain when you were little I couldn't bare it!" Gobber sighed. "I didn't want you to have to go through it anymore."

"Dad…I… You're so stupid." She sighed. "You should have told me." She sat back on her bed.

"I know. 'The Talk' is one thing, but how was I supposed to tell you that you can turn into a dragon?" Freya smiled slightly.

"A little old 'Oh, hey Freya, don't have sex, and you also turn into a dragon, so watch your temper too,' would have been nice." Gobber chuckled.

"So, can you forgive a silly old man?" He smiled crookedly.

"Of course." She smiled. "I'll always forgive you." He pet her hair.

"Well, I've gotta go train some new recruits how to fight dragons. You're welcome to watch." He smiled, enthusiastic about his job.

"So we're just gonna go back to life as normal?" She asked with a frown.

"We have to." Gobber shrugged. "We have to keep it a secret from everyone." She nodded and watched him leave, flopping back down on her bed.

"What a crazy day." She sighed. Deciding to get dressed and head down to the arena.

Freya sat above the training grounds; legs dangling through the railing as she watched the other Viking teens file in.

"Welcome, to Dragon Training!" Gobber led the way, talking to the teens. The walls of the arena were scorched; some places silhouettes of other Vikings could be made out amongst the ash.

"No turning back." Astrid said to the others, waving at Freya, who smiled reassuringly down at her.

"I hope I get some serious burns." Tuffnut smiled.

"I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back." Ruffnut added, flipping one of her three braids.

"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." Astrid remarked, not looking back at the others.

"Yeah, no kidding right? Pain, love it." Hiccup added, Freya frowned. After their conversation the day before, she didn't think he would want to start dragon training. The teens groaned at his remark.

"Oh great. Who let him in?" Tuffnut groaned, slouching in disappointment.

"Let's get started!" Gobber intruded before anyone else could complain. "The recruit who does best will win the honour of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village." Gobber twisted his hook in a killing gesture, causing Freya to wince.

"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or...?" Snotlout teased, the others laughed at his remark, walking to the centre of the arena.

"Can I transfer into the class with the cool Vikings?" Freya briefly heard Tuffnut complain. She saw Gobber throw a supportive arm around Hiccup and usher him along, obviously giving him advice before putting him in line with the others.

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight." Gobber announced, Freya smiled as Fishlegs bounced excitedly. "The Deadly Nadder." Gobber walked past each of the reinforced gates, naming off the dragons that were behind them. "The Hideous Zippleback." Fishlegs seemed to be breaking down the dragons as they were named off. "The Monstrous Nightmare. The Terrible Terror."

"Attack eight, venom twelve!" Fishlegs was getting worked up.

"Can you stop that!" Gobber yelled, and placed his hand on the final lever. "And, the Gronkle."

"Whoa, wait, aren't you gonna teach us first?" Snotlout asked frantically.

"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber pulled the lever, raising the cross beam on the doors as a Gronkle flew out, causing the teens to scatter. "Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead." Freya watched the Gronkle bypass the teens and scramble to pick up some rocks, swallowing them. _She must be hungry._ She thought, noting the happy look on the dragon's face. "Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?" He asked them.

"A doctor?" Hiccup suggested.

"Plus five speed?" Fishlegs stammered.

"A shield." Both Astrid and Freya called out at the same time.

"Shields. Go." Gobber answered. They each scrambled for shields that were scattered around the arena. "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must make a choice between a sword and a shield, take the shield." Gobber coached, helping Hiccup lift his shield and shoving him off. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were fighting over a shield with a skull painted on it. Ruff used the shield to bash her twin in the head when their shield was blasted by the Gronkle.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!" Gobber stated, causing a confused and dazed 'what?' from the two. "Those shields are good for another thing, noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim." they start to bash on their shield with their weapons, causing both Freya and the Gronkle to shake their heads. Freya's vision was slightly blurry, the teens below all fuzzy silhouettes.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronkle have?" Gobber asked.

"Five?" Snotlout guessed.

"No, six!" Fishlegs corrected, raising his arm with the shield still attached.

"Correct, six. That's one for each of you!" Gobber remarked.

"I really don't think my parents would-" Fishlegs was cut off by his shield being blasted by the Gronkle.

"Fishlegs, out." Freya saw Hiccup hiding.

"Hiccup get in there!" Gobber yelled at him. Freya sighed, hearing her stomach grumble, she decided to stand and get some lunch. She glanced back to see Hiccup chasing his shield, drawing the attention of the Gronkle. He ended up where she was sitting, the Gronkle pinned him against the wall, opening its mouth ready to fire.

"No don't shoot!" Freya yelled, diving on her stomach and leaning over the ledge. The Gronkle glanced up at her and shot above Hiccups head, letting Gobber drag it to its pen.

"Go back ta bed ya overgrown sausage!" Gobber told it off, sealing it back in its pen. "Remember... a dragon will always," He turned to Hiccup, "always, go for the kill." He hoisted Hiccup to his feet and walked off. Hiccup looked overhead to see a steaming pit in the solid stone wall above him, and then looked up at Freya.


End file.
